This invention relates to a vehicle lock requiring a reduced opening force.
Vehicle locks are known to comprise essentially a striker pin usually fixed on the pillar of the door opening, a rotatable fork engaging the striker pin at the moment the door is closed and usually carried on this latter, and a catch mounted to the side of the fork and arranged to cooperate with it after closure, to prevent its rotation and thus keep the lock fastened. During opening, to disengage the catch from the fork and thus allow this latter to freely rotate, usually under the effect of the return force generated by elastic means, it is necessary to overcome the force acting between the fork and catch due to the friction generated between the catch and the fork by the elastic reaction of the perimetral door gaskets. This force can be considerable, so that in the case of a manually operated lock the user has to apply a certain force to open the door, a fact which can disturb the user because it gives the impression that the lock, which is thus "hard", is operating incorrectly, therefore generally reducing the degree of comfort of the vehicle.